Sister Species Pairs Research Articles

Two new species of Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 with a deep dorsal depression on the carapace (Crustacea, Decapoda, Alpheidae)

Two closely related species of the alpheid shrimp genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 are described as new, viz. S. excavatus sp. nov. from the tropical eastern Pacific (Panama, Colombia), and S. depressus sp. nov. from the western Atlantic (Panama, Venezuela, Barbados). The two species share the presence of a dent-like, deep, longitudinal depression on the dorsal surface of the carapace, a feature unique within Salmoneus, the Alpheidae, and possibly the infra-order Caridea, as well as several other characters, thus forming a transisthmian sister species pair.

Phylogeographic patterns and cryptic speciation across oceanographic barriers in South African intertidal fishes

Biogeographic boundaries are the meeting zone of broadly distributed faunas, or the actual cause of a faunal break. In the latter case, closely related sister species should be found across such a boundary. To achieve such a situation, preliminary stages are expected, where phylogeographic breaks followed by genetic cryptic speciation would be observed. Biogeographic boundaries, in the Cape Point/Cape Agulhas region of southern Africa, offer an ideal system to test such predictions. Here, we studied two intertidal clinid fish species that are endemic to southern Africa, Clinus superciliosus (n = 127) and Muraenoclinus dorsalis (n = 114). Using mitochondrial control region, 16S rRNA, 12S rRNA and NADH2 genes and the nuclear rhodopsin and the first intron of the S7 ribosomal protein gene, we show both phylogeographic breaks and likely cryptic speciation in each species. Pairwise Φ(st) results suggest population genetic structuring for both species, with higher levels for M. dorsalis (Φ(st) = 0.34-0.93) than for C. superciliosus (Φ(st) = 0.1-0.74). Further, we recover two and three distinct lineages within M. dorsalis and C. superciliosus, respectively. Phylogenetic topologies, concordance between nuclear and mitochondrial markers and levels of sequence divergence, which are consistent with closely related sister species pairs, suggest the presence of cryptic species. Our results therefore meet the expectation for reduced gene flow at a biogeographic barrier, which translates into significant genetic breaks and cryptic sister species.

Taxonomic recommendations for British birds: seventh report

Taxonomic recommendations for British birds: seventh report

Speciation in little: the role of range and body size in the diversification of Malagasy mantellid frogs

BackgroundThe rate and mode of lineage diversification might be shaped by clade-specific traits. In Madagascar, many groups of organisms are characterized by tiny distribution ranges and small body sizes, and this high degree of microendemism and miniaturization parallels a high species diversity in some of these groups. We here investigate the geographic patterns characterizing the radiation of the frog family Mantellidae that is virtually endemic to Madagascar. We integrate a newly reconstructed near-complete species-level timetree of the Mantellidae with georeferenced distribution records and maximum male body size data to infer the influence of these life-history traits on each other and on mantellid diversification.ResultsWe reconstructed a molecular phylogeny based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA for 257 species and candidate species of the mantellid frog radiation. Based on this phylogeny we identified 53 well-supported pairs of sister species that we used for phylogenetic comparative analyses, along with whole tree-based phylogenetic comparative methods. Sister species within the Mantellidae diverged at 0.2-14.4 million years ago and more recently diverged sister species had geographical range centroids more proximate to each other, independently of their current sympatric or allopatric occurrence. The largest number of sister species pairs had non-overlapping ranges, but several examples of young microendemic sister species occurring in full sympatry suggest the possibility of non-allopatric speciation. Range sizes of species included in the sister species comparisons increased with evolutionary age, as did range size differences between sister species, which rejects peripatric speciation. For the majority of mantellid sister species and the whole mantellid radiation, range and body sizes were associated with each other and small body sizes were linked to higher mitochondrial nucleotide substitution rates and higher clade diversity. In contrast, small range sizes were unexpectedly associated with a slow-down of mitochondrial substitution rates.ConclusionsBased on these results we define a testable hypothesis under which small body sizes result in limited dispersal capabilities and low physiological tolerances, causing smaller and more strongly fragmented ranges. This can be thought to facilitate reproductive isolation and thus favor speciation. Contrary to the expectation of the faster speciation of such microendemic phenotype species, we only found small body sizes of mantellid frogs to be linked to higher diversification and substitution rates, but not small range sizes. A joint analysis of various species-rich regional anuran radiations might provide enough species with all combinations of range and body sizes for a more conclusive test of this hypothesis.

Latitude, elevational climatic zonation and speciation in New World vertebrates

Many biodiversity hotspots are located in montane regions, especially in the tropics. A possible explanation for this pattern is that the narrow thermal tolerances of tropical species and greater climatic stratification of tropical mountains create more opportunities for climate-associated parapatric or allopatric speciation in the tropics relative to the temperate zone. However, it is unclear whether a general relationship exists among latitude, climatic zonation and the ecology of speciation. Recent taxon-specific studies obtained different results regarding the role of climate in speciation in tropical versus temperate areas. Here, we quantify overlap in the climatic distributions of 93 pairs of sister species of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles restricted to either the New World tropics or to the Northern temperate zone. We show that elevational ranges of tropical- and temperate-zone species do not differ from one another, yet the temperature range experienced by species in the temperate zone is greater than for those in the tropics. Moreover, tropical sister species tend to exhibit greater similarity in their climatic distributions than temperate sister species. This pattern suggests that evolutionary conservatism in the thermal niches of tropical taxa, coupled with the greater thermal zonation of tropical mountains, may result in increased opportunities for allopatric isolation, speciation and the accumulation of species in tropical montane regions. Our study exemplifies the power of combining phylogenetic and spatial datasets of global climatic variation to explore evolutionary (rather than purely ecological) explanations for the high biodiversity of tropical montane regions.

Are rates of molecular evolution in mammals substantially accelerated in warmer environments?

Gillman et al. [[1][1]] test the notion that rates of molecular evolution are accelerated in small-bodied mammal species inhabiting geographical areas with warmer ambient temperatures. Their methodology involved estimation of many phylogenetic trees each consisting of a mammal sister species pair

Genes, morphology, development and photosynthetic ability support the resurrection of Elysia cornigera (Heterobranchia:Plakobranchoidea) as distinct from the 'solar-powered' sea slug, E. timida

Some groups of marine heterobranch sea slugs (formerly Opisthobranchia) have few discrete characters or hard parts and many ‘cosmopolitan’ species, suggesting an overly conservative taxonomy in need of integrative approaches. Many herbivorous sea slugs in the clade Sacoglossa retain algal chloroplasts that remain functionally photosynthetic for 1–2 weeks, but at least four species can sustain chloroplasts for several months. To better understand the origins of long-term kleptoplasty, we performed an integrative study of the highly photosynthetic species Elysia timida from the Mediterranean and Caribbean populations that were described as E. cornigera but later synonymised with E. timida. Nominal E. cornigera were distinct in their anatomy and aspects of larval development, and had dramatically reduced chloroplast retention compared with E. timida. Mean divergence at three genetic loci was determined for ten pairs of sister species in the genus Elysia, confirming that E. cornigera and E. timida have species level differences. Both taxa had a high degree of population genetic subdivision, but among-population genetic distances were far less than interspecific divergence. In an integrative taxonomic framework, E. cornigera is thus restored to species rank and fully redescribed, and baseline molecular data are presented for evaluating species level differences in the Sacoglossa.

Little ecological divergence associated with speciation in two African rain forest tree genera

BackgroundThe tropical rain forests (TRF) of Africa are the second largest block of this biome after the Amazon and exhibit high levels of plant endemism and diversity. Two main hypotheses have been advanced to explain speciation processes that have led to this high level of biodiversity: allopatric speciation linked to geographic isolation and ecological speciation linked to ecological gradients. Both these hypotheses rely on ecology: in the former conservation of ecological niches through time is implied, while in the latter adaptation via selection to alternative ecological niches would be a prerequisite. Here, we investigate the role of ecology in explaining present day species diversity in African TRF using a species level phylogeny and ecological niche modeling of two predominantly restricted TRF tree genera, Isolona and Monodora (Annonaceae). Both these genera, with 20 and 14 species, respectively, are widely distributed in African TRFs, with a few species occurring in slightly less humid regions such as in East Africa.ResultsA total of 11 sister species pairs were identified most of them occurring in allopatry or with little geographical overlap. Our results provide a mixed answer on the role of ecology in speciation. Although no sister species have identical niches, just under half of the tests suggest that sister species do have more similar niches than expected by chance. PCA analyses also support little ecological differences between sister species. Most speciation events within both genera predate the Pleistocene, occurring during the Late Miocene and Pliocene periods.ConclusionsEcology is almost always involved in speciation, however, it would seem to have had a little role in species generation within Isolona and Monodora at the scale analyzed here. This is consistent with the geographical speciation model for TRF diversification. These results contrast to other studies for non-TRF plant species where ecological speciation was found to be an important factor of diversification. The Pliocene period appears to be a vital time in the generation of African TRF diversity, whereas Pleistocene climatic fluctuations have had a smaller role on speciation than previously thought.Ecological niche modeling, species level phylogeny, ecological speciation, African tropics, Isolona, Monodora, Annonaceae

Mitochondrial cox1 sequence data reliably uncover patterns of insect diversity but suffer from high lineage-idiosyncratic error rates.

BackgroundThe demand for scientific biodiversity data is increasing, but taxonomic expertise is often limited or not available. DNA sequencing is a potential remedy to overcome this taxonomic impediment. Mitochondrial DNA is most commonly used, e.g., for species identification (“DNA barcoding”). Here, we present the first study in arthropods based on a near-complete species sampling of a family-level taxon from the entire Australian region. We aimed to assess how reliably mtDNA data can capture species diversity when many sister species pairs are included. Then, we contrasted phylogenetic subsampling with the hitherto more commonly applied geographical subsampling, where sister species are not necessarily captured.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe sequenced 800 bp cox1 for 1,439 individuals including 260 Australian species (78% species coverage). We used clustering with thresholds of 1 to 10% and general mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC) analysis for the estimation of species richness. The performance metrics used were taxonomic accuracy and agreement between the morphological and molecular species richness estimation. Clustering (at the 3% level) and GMYC reliably estimated species diversity for single or multiple geographic regions, with an error for larger clades of lower than 10%, thus outperforming parataxonomy. However, the rates of error were higher for some individual genera, with values of up to 45% when very recent species formed nonmonophyletic clusters. Taxonomic accuracy was always lower, with error rates above 20% and a larger variation at the genus level (0 to 70%). Sørensen similarity indices calculated for morphospecies, 3% clusters and GMYC entities for different pairs of localities was consistent among methods and showed expected decrease over distance.Conclusion/Significance Cox1 sequence data are a powerful tool for large-scale species richness estimation, with a great potential for use in ecology and β-diversity studies and for setting conservation priorities. However, error rates can be high in individual lineages.

First record of the harpacticoid genusNitocrellopsis(Copepoda, Ameiridae) in Australia, with descriptions of three new species

Three new freshwater ameirid species were discovered in the Western Australian subterranean habitats and described in this paper. They all proved to belong to the genus Nitocrellopsis Galassi, De Laurentiis & Dole-Olivier, 1999, representing the first record of this genus in Australia. Nitocrellopsis operculata sp. nov. was collected in 2003 in the Pilbara region, during the Pilbara Regional Survey, led by the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC). It can be distinguished from all other congeners by the reduced armature of the antennal exopod, which is an autapomorphic feature. Also, no other species of Nitocrellopsis has cuticular windows on prosomal or urosomal somites, or six elements on the third exopodal segment of the second leg. Nitocrellopsis halsei sp. nov. and N. pinderi sp. nov. are sister-species, collected in 2007 in the neighbouring Yilgarn region, by the private environmental consulting company Bennelongia Pty Ltd. Numerous morphological similarities include somite ornamentation, armature patterns of the swimming legs and the fifth leg, as well as the shape and armature of the antennula, antenna and almost all mouth appendages, while the main differences between the two are observed in the body size and habitus appearance, caudal rami shape and size, presence/absence of large lateral pores on the fourth pedigerous somite, number of spinules on the anal operculum, number of setae on the madibular endopod, and shape of the exopod of the fifth leg. Although they differ from any other congener by a combination of characters, no significant autapomorphic features were observed. In order to find a more natural allocation of these three species, a cladistic analysis is performed on all current members of Nitocrellopsis and three outgroup taxa, based on 45 morphological characters. The resulting cladogram shows that the ingroup is well defined by at least four synapomorphies, but the Australian species from the two regions are only remotely related to each other, showing the importance of looking at small-scale patterns when inferring Gondwanan biogeography. Three sister-species pairs are recognized in the genus and a key to all 12 members is provided.

Three parallel radiations of Canthonini dung beetles in Madagascar

Madagascar has an exceptionally large fauna of more than 250 species of endemic dung beetles. Based on molecular phylogenies, the species descend from eight independent overseas colonisations, of which four have given rise to big radiations. Here, we analyse the tribe Canthonini with three parallel radiations following the respective colonisations at 64–44Mya (Arachnodes–Epilissus, 101 species), 30–19Mya (Epactoides, 37 species), and 24–15Mya (Apotolamprus–Nanos, 61 species). All three radiations have taken place in forests, but there are also substantial differences between them. The oldest radiation exhibits the greatest ecological diversification, including monophyletic groups of primate and cattle dung specialists and multiple shifts to arboreal foraging. Analysis of pairs of sister species suggests allopatric speciation in the oldest and the youngest, apparently non-adaptive, radiations, whereas in Epactoides closely related species have diverged ecologically and have largely overlapping geographical ranges, suggestive of adaptive radiation in parapatry or regional sympatry.

Testing Founder Effect Speciation: Divergence Population Genetics of the Spoonbills Platalea regia and Pl. minor (Threskiornithidae, Aves)

Although founder effect speciation has been a popular theoretical model for the speciation of geographically isolated taxa, its empirical importance has remained difficult to evaluate due to the intractability of past demography, which in a founder effect speciation scenario would involve a speciational bottleneck in the emergent species and the complete cessation of gene flow following divergence. Using regression-weighted approximate Bayesian computation, we tested the validity of these two fundamental conditions of founder effect speciation in a pair of sister species with disjunct distributions: the royal spoonbill Platalea regia in Australasia and the black-faced spoonbill Pl. minor in eastern Asia. When compared with genetic polymorphism observed at 20 nuclear loci in the two species, simulations showed that the founder effect speciation model had an extremely low posterior probability (1.55 × 10(-8)) of producing the extant genetic pattern. In contrast, speciation models that allowed for postdivergence gene flow were much more probable (posterior probabilities were 0.37 and 0.50 for the bottleneck with gene flow and the gene flow models, respectively) and postdivergence gene flow persisted for a considerable period of time (more than 80% of the divergence history in both models) following initial divergence (median = 197,000 generations, 95% credible interval [CI]: 50,000-478,000, for the bottleneck with gene flow model; and 186,000 generations, 95% CI: 45,000-477,000, for the gene flow model). Furthermore, the estimated population size reduction in Pl. regia to 7,000 individuals (median, 95% CI: 487-12,000, according to the bottleneck with gene flow model) was unlikely to have been severe enough to be considered a bottleneck. Therefore, these results do not support founder effect speciation in Pl. regia but indicate instead that the divergence between Pl. regia and Pl. minor was probably driven by selection despite continuous gene flow. In this light, we discuss the potential importance of evolutionarily labile traits with significant fitness consequences, such as migratory behavior and habitat preference, in facilitating divergence of the spoonbills.

Molecular phylogenetics of moray eels (Muraenidae) demonstrates multiple origins of a shell-crushing jaw (Gymnomuraena, Echidna) and multiple colonizations of the Atlantic Ocean

Moray eels (Muraenidae) are apex predators on coral reefs around the world, but they are not well studied because their cryptic habitats and occasionally aggressive behaviors make them difficult to collect. We provide a molecular phylogeny of moray eels including 44 species representing two subfamilies, eight genera, and all tropical ocean basins. Phylogenetic relationships among these taxa are estimated from portions of mitochondrial loci cytochrome b (632bp) and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (596bp), and portions of the nuclear loci RAG-1 (421bp) and RAG-2 (754bp). We test four sets of contrasting phylogenetic hypotheses using Bayes Factors, Shimodaira–Hasegawa tests, and Templeton tests. First, our results support the subfamily-level taxonomic distinction between true morays (Muraeninae) and snakemorays (Uropterygiinae), statistically rejecting hypotheses of non-monophyly for each subfamily. Second, we reject a monophyletic grouping of the genera Gymnomuraena and Echidna, which share a durophagous (shell-crushing) cranial morphology and dentition, indicating that the durophagous characters are not homologous. Third, we demonstrate that durophagous feeding habits and associated morphological characters have evolved in parallel in an ancestor of Gymnomuraena and at least three additional times within the genus Echidna. Finally, the tree topology indicates multiple invasions of the Atlantic from the Indo-Pacific, one of these occurring immediately prior to formation of the Isthmus of Panama approximately 2.8MYA (million years ago) and one or two others occurring in the early to mid Miocene. Cladogenesis occurring within the Atlantic during the mid Miocene and Pliocene also contributed to moray species diversity. These data include a pair of sister species separated by the Isthmus of Panama, allowing a time-calibrated tree with an estimated crown age for Muraenidae at between 41 and 60MYA, consistent with fossil evidence. Most lineage accumulation within morays occurred from the late Oligocene (24–27MYA) through the Miocene (5–23MYA) to the late Pliocene (∼2.5MYA).

The relative importance of geography and ecology in species diversification: evidence from a tropical marine intertidal snail (Nerita)

AbstractAim In this study, I examined the relative contributions of geography and ecology to species diversification within the genus Nerita, a prominent clade of marine snails that is widely distributed across the tropics and intertidal habitats. Specifically, I tested whether geographical patterns of speciation correspond primarily to allopatric or sympatric models, and whether habitat transitions have played a major role in species diversification.Location Indo‐West Pacific, eastern Pacific, Atlantic, tropical marine intertidal.Methods I used a previously reconstructed molecular phylogeny of Nerita as a framework to assess the relative importance of geographical and ecological factors in species diversification. To evaluate whether recently diverged clades exhibit patterns consistent with allopatric or sympatric speciation, I mapped the geo‐graphical distribution of each species onto the species‐level phylogeny, and examined the relationship between range overlap and time since divergence using age–range correlation analyses. To determine the relative contribution of habitat transitions to divergence, I traced shifts in intertidal substrate affinity and vertical zonation across the phylogeny using parsimony, and implemented randomization tests to evaluate the resulting patterns of ecological change.Results Within the majority of Nerita clades examined, age–range correlation analysis yielded a low intercept and a positive slope, similar to that expected under allopatric speciation. Approximately 75% of sister species pairs have maintained allopatric distributions; whereas more distantly related sister taxa often exhibited complete or nearly complete geographical overlap. In contrast, only 19% of sister species occupy distinct habitats. For both substrate and zonation, habitat transitions failed to concentrate towards either the tips or the root of the phylogeny. Instead, habitat shifts have occurred throughout the history of Nerita, with a general transition from the lower and mid‐littoral towards the upper and supra‐littoral zones, and multiple independent shifts from hard (rock) to softer substrates (mangrove, mud and sand).Main conclusions Both geography and ecology appear to have influenced diversification in Nerita, but to different extents. Geography seems to play a principal role, with allopatric speciation driving the majority of Nerita divergences. Habitat transitions appear insignificant in shaping the early and recent history of speciation, and promoting successive diversification in Nerita; however, shifts may have been important for respective divergences (i.e. those that correspond to the transitions) and enhancing diversity throughout the clade.

South Asia supports a major endemic radiation of Hemidactylus geckos

Hemidactylus geckos are a species-rich component of many tropical lizard assemblages. We sampled deeply among tropical Asian, and especially South Asian, taxa and used a multi-gene approach to establish the affinities of Indian and Sri Lankan Hemidactylus and to evaluate the monophyly of previously proposed taxa within the genus. There is only weak support for the monophyly of tropical Asian Hemidactylus as a whole, but two strongly supported subclades were retrieved: the bowringii group is a predominantly East Asian clade that reaches South Asia only peripherally; the brookii group is a morphologically diverse clade that represents a previously unrecognized, species-rich (25 species), chiefly South Asian radiation. Deep genetic divergences support the specific recognition of three Sri Lankan taxa previously regarded as subspecies of mainland forms and validate H. subtriedrus as a species distinct from H. triedrus. Unlike several other vertebrate groups, Sri Lankan Hemidactylus do not represent a single insular radiation. Rather, each of six Sri Lankan species reached the island independently from different continental sources. There have been extensive Quaternary land connections between India and Sri Lanka but sister-species pairs of Hemidactylus on the two land masses diverged from one another much earlier, probably in the mid-Miocene.

Ecological and geographic modes of species divergence in wild tomatoes

Understanding the role of geography and ecology in species divergence is central to the study of evolutionary diversification. We used climatic, geographic, and biological data from nine wild Andean tomato species to describe each species' ecological niche and to evaluate the likely ecological and geographical modes of speciation in this clade. Using data from >1000 wild accessions and publicly available data derived from geographic information systems for various environmental variables, we found most species pairs were significantly differentiated for one or more environmental variables. By comparing species' predicted niches generated by species distribution modeling (SDM), we found significant niche differentiation among three of four sister-species pairs, suggesting ecological divergence is consistently associated with recent divergence. In comparison, based on age-range correlation (ARC) analysis, there was no evidence for a predominant geographical (allopatric vs. sympatric) context for speciation in this group. Overall, our results suggest an important role for environmentally mediated differentiation, rather than simply geographical isolation, in species divergence.

Phylogenetic Estimation of Species Limits in Dwarf Crayfishes from the Ozarks: Orconectes macrus and Orconectes nana (Decapoda: Cambaridae)

Abstract Orconectes macrus (Neosho Midget Crayfish) and O. nana (Midget Crayfish) are a proposed sister-species pair with a small range on the western edge of the Ozark Highlands Physiographic province. Originally proposed as subspecies, O. macrus was elevated to full species status without explicit reason. This study utilized a single-locus mtDNA region (cytochrome oxidase I) to test: (1) monophyly of the species pair, (2) monophyly of the proposed species, and (3) examine if full species status is warranted for O. macrus. Phylogenetic reconstructions indicate that the two taxa indeed comprise a species pair and that each species is well supported as monophyletic. Additionally, there is significant phylogeographic structuring within each recognized species at fine spatial scales.

Molecular phylogeny of enigmatic Caribbean spider crabs from the Mithrax–Mithraculus species complex (Brachyura: Majidae: Mithracinae): ecological diversity and a formal test of genera monophyly

Crabs from the Mithrax–Mithraculus species complex are known for their diversity of lifestyles, habitats, and coloration. This group includes small, colourful, symbiotic species and much larger, reef-dwelling crabs targeted by fishermen. The evolutionary relationships between the species within this complex are not well-defined. Previous studies based upon morphological characters have proposed the separation of this complex into two genera (Mithrax and Mithraculus), but cladistic analyses based upon larval characters do not support this division. A molecular phylogeny of the group may help to resolve this long-standing taxonomic question and shed light on the ecological conditions driving the diversity of these crabs. Using a 550-bp alignment of the 16S rRNA mitochondrial DNA segment we examined the phylogenetic relationships between 8 species within the Mithrax–Mithraculus complex native to the Caribbean. The resulting phylogeny indicates that this complex is paraphyletic, as it includes the genus Microphrys. The analyses revealed a well-supported, monophyletic group containing four species of Mithraculus (M. cinctimanus, M. coryphe, M. sculptus and M. forceps) and supported one pair of sister species from the genus Mithrax (M. caribbaeus and M. spinosissimus). No complete segregation of species, according to genera, was evident, however, from tree topologies. Bayesian-factor analyses revealed strong support for the unconstrained tree instead of alternative trees in which monophyly of the two genera was forced. Thus, the present molecular phylogeny does not support the separation of the species within this complex into the genera Mithrax and Mithraculus. A review of the literature demonstrated considerable phenotypic variation within monophyletic clades in this group.

Molecular phylogeny of the genus Lythria and description of the male genitalia of L. venustata (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Sterrhinae)

We present a molecular phylogeny incorporating all five species of the Palaearctic geometrid genus Lythria, based on a 2810-bp combined data matrix comprising the full sequence of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit one (COI) and fragments of the nuclear genes elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1D ) and wingless (wgl). L. venustata, which was recently rediscovered from Kazakhstan, is shown to be sister taxon to all other members of the genus. The remaining species within the genus form two pairs of sister species: L. purpuraria groups together with L. plumularia, and L. cruentaria with L. sanguinaria. The phylogeny is well supported by characters of the male genitalia of all Lythria species. In addition to the molecular phylogeny of the genus Lythria, we illustrate the external appearance of L. venustata for the first time and describe the anatomy of its male genitalia.

Ecological niches and their evolution among Neotropical manakins (Aves: Pipridae)

Study of the evolution of ecological characteristics using phylogenetic information is only beginning, but several new tools and approaches open fascinating possibilities. The Pipridae is a diverse and well‐known family of frugivorous birds that are easily sampled and that are broadly distributed across many Neotropical environments, and as such are appropriate for studies of ecological niche evolution. Using known occurrences and climate and topography data sets, we modeled ecological niches for each species in the family, and carried out analyses aimed at describing ecological niches of manakins and understanding historical patterns of ecological change in the family. Most species’ ecological niches were characterized by warm and relatively humid conditions, reflecting the great diversification of the family in lowland and montane forests of western South America. Ecological niche evolution was in general conservative, with most sister species pairs being closely similar ecologically, indicating that isolation rather than adaptation to new ecological conditions has dominated the diversification in this family. Exceptions to this pattern represent interesting foci for future research, whereas studies of ecological niches focusing on past distributions of manakins will allow further biogeographic inferences.